I/I  B 

OF   THE 

UN  IVLRSITY 
OF    ILLINOIS 

from 
Carl  Sandburg's  Library 


HE    KNEW  LINCOLN 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 


BY 
IDA    M.    TARBELL 


AUTHOR  OF  "LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN' 


NEW  YORK 

THE  McCLURE  CO. 

MCMVIII 


Copyright,  1907,  by  McClure,  Phillips  &  Co 


Copyright,  1907,  by  The  Phillips  Publishing  Company 


V. 


To  My  Mother 


* 

tlx 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing 
page 

"Come  and  set  by  the  stove  by  the  hour  and 

tell  stories  and  talk  and  argue  "    .     .     .       4 

"Horace   Greeley9  he  came  in  here  to  buy 

quinine " 16 

"Aunt  Sally,  you  couldn't  a  done  nuthin9 

which  would  have  pleased  me  better  "       18 

"He  just  talked  to  us  that  time  out  of  his 

heart9' 24 

"You're  actin'  like  a  lot  of  cowards. 
You've  helped  make  this  war,  and 
you've  got  to  help  fight  it"  ....  26 

"We  went  out  on  the  back  stoop  and  sat  down 

and  talked  and  talked "  .     .     „    30 


HE    KNEW  LINCOLN 


< '  V  "^  ID  I  know  Lincoln  ?  Well, 
•  I  should  say.  See  that 
1  J  chair  there  ?  Take  it,  set 
down.  That's  right.  Comfortable, 
ain't  it?  Well,  sir,  Abraham  Lincoln 
has  set  in  that  chair  hours,  him  and 
Little  'Doug,'  and  Logan  and  Judge 
Davis,  all  of  'em,  all  the  big  men  in  this 
State,  set  in  that  chair.  See  them  marks  ? 
Whittlin'.  Judge  Logan  did  it,  all-firedest 
man  to  whittle.  Always  cuttin'  away  at 
something.  I  just  got  that  chair  new,  paid 
•six  dollars  for  it,  and  I  be  blamed  if  I 
didn't  come  in  this  store  and  find  him 
slashin'  right  into  that  arm.  I  picked  up 
a  stick  and  said:  'Here,  Judge,  s'posin' 
you  cut  this.'  He  just  looked  at  me  and 
3 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
then  flounced  out,  mad  as  a  wet  hen. 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  here,  and  you  ought  to 
heard  him  tee-hee.  He  was  always  here. 
Come  and  set  by  the  stove  by  the  hour 
and  tell  stories  and  talk  and  argue.  I'd 
ruther  heard  the  debates  them  men  had 
around  this  old  stove  than  heard  Webster 
and  Clay  and  Calhoun  and  the  whole 
United  States  Senate.  There  wan't  never 
no  United  States  Senate  that  could  beat 
just  what  I've  heard  right  here  in  this 
room  with  Lincoln  settin'  in  that  very 
chair  where  you  are  this  minute. 

"  He  traded  here.  I've  got  his  accounts 
now.  See  here, 'quinine,  quinine,  quinine.' 
Greatest  hand  to  buy  quinine  you  ever 
seen.  Give  it  to  his  constituents.  Oh,  he 
knew  how  to  be  popular,  Mr.  Lincoln  did. 
Cutest  man  in  politics.  I  wan't  a  Whig. 
I  was  then  and  I  am  now  a  Democrat,  a 
real  old-fashioned  Jackson  Democrat,  and 
4 


"  Come  and  set  by  the  stove  by  the  hour  and  tell  stories  and 
talk  and  argue  " 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
my  blood  just  would  rise  up  sometimes 
hearin'  him  discuss.  He  was  a  dangerous 
man  —  a  durned  dangerous  man  to  have 
agin  you.  He'd  make  you  think  a  thing 
when  you  knew  it  wan't  so,  and  cute! 
Why,  he'd  just  slide  in  when  you  wan't 
expectin'  it  and  do  some  unexpected 
thing  that  just'd  make  you  laugh,  and 
then  he'd  get  your  vote.  You'd  vote  for 
him  because  you  liked  him  —  just  be- 
cause you  liked  him  and  because  he  was 
so  all-fired  smart,  and  do  it  when  you 
knew  he  was  wrong  and  it  was  agin  the 
interest  of  the  country. 

"  Tell  stories  ?  Nobody  ever  could  beat 
him  at  that,  and  how  he'd  enjoy  'em,  just 
slap  his  hands  on  his  knees  and  jump  up 
and  turn  around  and  then  set  down, 
laughin'  to  kill.  Greatest  man  to  git  new 
yarns  that  ever  lived,  always  askin', 
4  Heard  any  new  stories,  Billy  ? '  And  if 
5 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
I  had  I'd  trot  'em  out,  and  how  he'd 
laugh.  Often  and  often  when  I've  told 
him  something  new  and  he'd  kin'  a  forgit 
how  it  went,  he'd  come  in  and  say, '  Billy, 
how  was  that  story  you'se  tellin'  me  ? ' 
and  then  I'd  tell  it  all  over. 

"  He  was  away  a  lot,  you  know,  ridin' 
the  circuit  along  with  some  right  smart 
lawyers.  They  had  great  doin's.  Nuthin' 
to  do  evenings  but  to  set  around  the 
tavern  stove  tellin'  stories.  That  was 
enough  when  Lincoln  was  there.  They 
was  all  lost  without  him.  Old  Judge  Davis 
was  boss  of  that  lot,  and  he  never  would 
settle  down  till  Lincoln  got  around.  I've 
heard  'em  laugh  lots  of  times  how  the 
Judge  would  fuss  around  and  keep  askin', 
'Where's  Mr.  Lincoln,  why  don't  Mr. 
Lincoln  come  ?  Somebody  go  and  find 
Lincoln,'  and  when  Lincoln  came  he 
would  just  settle  back  and  get  him  started 


HE    KNEW    LINCOLN 
to  yarning,  and  there  they'd  set  half  the 
night. 

"  When  he  got  home  he'd  come  right  in 
here  first  time  he  was  downtown  and  tell 
me  every  blamed  yarn  he'd  heard.  Whole 
crowd  would  get  in  here  sometimes  and 
talk  over  the  trip,  and  I  tell  you  it  was 
something  to  hear  'em  laugh.  You  could 
tell  how  Lincoln  kept  things  stirred  up. 
He  was  so  blamed  quick.  Ever  hear  Judge 
Weldon  tell  that  story  about  what  Lin- 
coln said  one  day  up  to  Bloomington 
when  they  was  takin'  up  a  subscription 
to  buy  Jim  Wheeler  a  new  pair  of  pants  ? 
No  ?  Well,  perhaps  I  oughten  to  tell  it  to 
you,  ma  says  it  ain't  nice.  It  makes  me 
mad  to  hear  people  objectin'  to  Mr. 
Lincoln's  stories.  Mebbe  he  did  say 
words  you  wouldn't  expect  to  hear  at  a 
church  supper,  but  he  never  put  no  mean- 
in'  into  'em  that  wouldn't  'a'  been  fit  for 
7 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
the  minister  to  put  into  a  sermon,  and 
that's  a  blamed  sight  more'n  you  can  say 
of  a  lot  of  stories  I've  heard  some  of  the 
people  tell  who  stick  up  their  noses  at 
Mr.  Lincoln's  yarns. 

"  Yes,  sir,  he  used  to  keep  things  purty 
well  stirred  up  on  that  circuit.  That  time 
I  was  a  speakin'  of  he  made  Judge  Davis 
real  mad ;  it  happened  right  in  court  and 
everybody  got  to  gigglin'  fit  to  kill.  The 
Judge  knew  'twas  something  Lincoln 
had  said  and  he  began  to  sputter. 

"I  am  not  going  to  stand  this  any 
longer,  Mr.  Lincoln,  you're  always  dis- 
turbin'  this  court  with  your  tomfoolery. 
I'm  goin'  to  fine  you.  The  clerk  will  fine 
Mr.  Lincoln  five  dollars  for  disorderly 
conduct.'  The  boys  said  Lincoln  never 
said  a  word;  he  just  set  lookin'  down  with 
his  hand  over  his  mouth,  tryin'  not  to 
laugh.  About  a  minute  later  the  Judge, 
8 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
who  was  always  on  pins  and  needles  till 
he  knew  all  the  fun  that  was  goin'  on, 
called  up  Weldon  and  whispered  to  him, 
'  What  was  that  Lincoln  said  ? '  Weldon 
told  him,  and  I'll  be  blamed  if  the  Judge 
didn't  giggle  right  out  loud  there  in  court. 
The  joke  was  on  him  then,  and  he  knew 
it,  and  soon  as  he  got  his  face  straight  he 
said,  dignified  like, '  The  clerk  may  remit 
Mr.  Lincoln's  fine.' 

"  Yes,  he  was  a  mighty  cute  story-teller, 
but  he  knew  what  he  was  about  tellin' 
'em.  I  tell  you  he  got  more  arguments  out 
of  stories  than  he  did  out  of  law  books, 
and  the  queer  part  was  you  couldn't 
answer  'em  —  they  just  made  you  see  it 
and  you  couldn't  get  around  it.  I'm  a 
Democrat,  but  I'll  be  blamed  if  I  didn't 
have  to  vote  for  Mr.  Lincoln  as  President, 
couldn't  help  it,  and  it  was  all  on  account 
of  that  snake  story  of  his'n  illustratin' 
9 


HE    KNEW    LINCOLN 
the  takin'  of  slavery  into  Kansas  and  Ne- 
braska. Remember  it  ?  I  heard  him  tell 
it  in  a  speech  once. 

"If  I  saw  a  pizen  snake  crawlin'  in 
the  road,'  he  says,  'I'd  kill  it  with  the 
first  thing  I  could  grab ;  but  if  I  found  it 
in  bed  with  my  children,  I'd  be  mighty 
careful  how  I  touched  it  fear  I'd  make  it 
bite  the  children.  If  I  found  it  in  bed  with 
somebody  else's  children  I'd  let  them 
take  care  of  it;  but  if  I  found  somebody 
puttin'  a  whole  batch  of  young  snakes 
into  an  empty  bed  where  mine  or  any- 
body's children  was  going  to  sleep  pretty 
soon,  I'd  stop  him  from  doin'  it  if  I  had 
to  fight  him.'  Perhaps  he  didn't  say '  fight 
him,'  but  somehow  I  always  tell  that 
story  that  way  because  I  know  I  would 
and  so  would  he  or  you  or  anybody.  That 
was  what  it  was  all  about  when  you  come 
down  to  it.  They  was  trying  to  put  a  batch 
10 


HE    KNEW   LINCOLN 
of  snakes  into  an  empty  bed  that  folks 
was  goin'  to  sleep  in. 

"Before  I  heard  that  story  I'd  heard 
Lincoln  say  a  hundred  times,  settin'  right 
there  in  that  chair,  where  you  are, '  Boys, 
we've  got  to  stop  slavery  or  it's  goin'  to 
spread  all  over  this  country,'  but,  some- 
how, I  didn't  see  it  before.  Them  snakes 
finished  me.  Then  I  knew  he'd  got  it  right 
and  I'd  got  to  vote  for  him.  Pretty  tough, 
though,  for  me  to  go  back  on  Little 
'Doug.'  You  see  he  was  our  great  man, 
so  we  thought.  Been  to  the  United  States 
Senate  and  knew  all  the  big  bugs  all  over 
the  country.  Sort  o'  looked  and  talked 
great.  Wan't  no  comparison  between  him 
and  Lincoln  in  looks  and  talk.  Of  course, 
we  all  knew  he  wan't  honest,  like  Lincoln, 
but  blamed  if  I  didn't  think  in  them  days 
Lincoln  was  too  all-fired  honest  —  kind 
of  innocent  honest.  He  couldn't  stand  it 
11 


HP  II  i  IN  Gil 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
nohow  to  have  things  said  that  wan't  so. 
He  just  felt  plumb  bad  about  lies.  I  re- 
member once  bein'  in  court  over  to  De- 
catur  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was  tryin'  a  case. 
There  was  a  fellow  agin  him  that  didn't 
have  no  prejudices  against  lyin'  in  a  law- 
suit, and  he  was  tellin'  how  Lincoln  had 
said  this  an'  that,  tryin'  to  mix  up  the 
jury.  It  was  snowin'  bad  outside,  and  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  wet  his  feet  and  he  was  tryin' 
to  dry  'em  at  the  stove.  He  had  pulled  off 
one  shoe  and  was  settin'  there  holdin'  up 
his  great  big  foot,  his  forehead  all  puck- 
ered up,  listenin'  to  that  ornery  lawyer's 
lies.  All  at  onct  he  jumped  up  and  hopped 
right  out  into  the  middle  of  the  court- 
room. 

:'Now,  Judge,'  he  says,  'that  ain't 
fair.   I  didn't  say  no  sich  thing,  and  he 
knows  I  didn't.  I  ain't  goin'  to  have  this 
jury  all  fuddled  up.' 
12 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
"You  never  see  anything  so  funny  in  a 
court-room  as  that  big  fellow  standin' 
there  in  one  stockin'  foot,  a  shoe  in  his 
hand,  talking  so  earnest.  No,  sir,  he 
couldn't  stand  a  lie. 

"'Think  he  was  a  big  man,  then?' 
Nope  —  never  did.  Just  as  I  said,  we  all 
thought  Douglas  was  our  big  man.  You 
know  I  felt  kind  of  sorry  for  Lincoln 
when  they  began  to  talk  about  him  for 
President.  It  seemed  almost  as  if  some- 
body was  makin'  fun  of  him.  He  didn't 
look  like  a  president.  I  never  had  seen 
one,  but  we  had  pictures  of  'em,  all  of 
'em  from  George  Washington  down,  and 
they  looked  somehow  as  if  they  were  dif- 
ferent kind  of  timber  from  us.  Leastwise 
that's  always  the  way  it  struck  me.  Now 
Mr.  Lincoln  he  was  just  like  your  own 
folks  —  no  trouble  to  talk  to  him,  no 
siree.  Somehow  you  just  settled  down 
13 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
comfortable  to  visitin'  the  minute  he  come 
in.  I  couldn't  imagine  George  Washing- 
ton or  Thomas  Jefferson  settin'  here  in 
that  chair  you're  in  tee-heein'  over  some 
blamed  yarn  of  mine.  None  of  us  around 
town  took  much  stock  in  his  bein'  elected 
at  first  —  that  is,  none  of  the  men,  the 
women  was  different.  They  always  be- 
lieved in  him,  and  used  to  say, '  You  mark 
my  word,  Mr.  Lincoln  will  be  president. 
He's  just  made  for  it,  he's  good,  he's  the 
best  man  ever  lived  and  he  ought  to  be 
president.'  I  didn't  see  no  logic  in  that 
then,  but  I  dunno  but  there  was  some 
after  all. 

"  It  seems  all  right  now  though.  I  reck- 
on I  learned  somethin'  watchin'  him  be 
President  —  learned  a  lot  —  not  that  it 
made  any  difference  in  him.  Funniest 
thing  to  see  him  goin'  around  in  this 
town  —  not  a  mite  changed  —  and  the 
14 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
whole  United  States  a  watchin'  him  and 
the  biggest  men  in  the  country  runnin' 
after  him  and  reporters  hangin'  around 
to  talk  to  him  and  fellers  makin'  his  pic- 
tures in  ile  and  every  other  way.  That 
didn't  make  no  difference  to  him  —  only 
he  didn't  like  bein'  so  busy  he  couldn't 
come  in  here  much.  He  had  a  room  over 
there  in  the  Court  House  —  room  on  that 
corner  there.  I  never  looked  up  that  it 
wan't  chuck  full  of  people  wan  tin'  him. 
This  old  town  was  full  of  people  all  the 
time  —  delegations  and  committees  and 
politicians  and  newspaper  men.  Only 
time  I  ever  see  Horace  Greeley,  he  came 
in  here  to  buy  quinine.  Mr.  Lincoln  sent 
him.  Think  of  that,  Horace  Greeley  buy- 
in'  quinine  of  me. 

"No  end  of  other  great  men  around. 
He  saw  'em  all.  Sometimes  I  used  to  step 
over  and  watch  him  —  didn't  bother  him 
15 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
a  mite  to  see  a  big  man  —  not  a  mite. 
He'd  jest  shake  hands  and  talk  as  easy 
and  natural  as  if  'twas  me  —  and  he 
didn't  do  no  struttin'  either.  Some  of  the 
fellers  who  come  to  see  him  looked  as  if 
they  was  goin'  to  be  president,  but  Mr. 
Lincoln  didn't  put  on  any  airs.  No,  sir, 
and  he  didn't  cut  any  of  his  old  friends 
either.  Tickled  to  death  to  see  'em  every 
time,  and  they  all  come  —  blamed  if 
every  old  man  and  woman  in  Sangamon 
County  didn't  trot  up  here  to  see  him. 
They'd  all  knowed  him  when  he  was 
keepin'  store  down  to  New  Salem  and 
swingin'  a  chain  —  surveyed  lots  of  their 
towns  for  'em  —  he  had  —  and  then  he'd 
electioneered  all  over  that  county,  too, 
so  they  just  come  in  droves  to  bid  him 
good-by.  I  was  over  there  one  day  when 
old  Aunt  Sally  Lowdy  came  in  the  door. 
Aunt  Sally  lived  down  near  New  Salem, 
16 


"Horace  Greeley,  he  came  in  here  to  buy  quinine  " 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
and  I  expect  she'd  mended  Mr.  Lincoln's 
pants  many  a  time;  for  all  them  old  wo- 
men down  there  just  doted  on  him  and 
took  care  of  him  as  if  he  was  their  own 
boy.  Well,  Aunt  Sally  stood  lookin'  kind 
a  scared  seein'  so  many  strangers  and  not 
knowin'  precisely  what  to  do,  when  Mr. 
Lincoln  spied  her.  Quick  as  a  wink  he 
said,  'Excuse  me,  gentlemen,'  and  he 
just  rushed  over  to  that  old  woman  and 
shook  hands  with  both  of  his'n  and  says, 
'  Now,  Aunt  Sally,  this  is  real  kind  of  you 
to  come  and  see  me.  How  are  you  and 
how's  Jake  ?'  (Jake  was  her  boy.)  '  Come 
right  over  here,'  and  he  led  her  over,  as  if 
she  was  the  biggest  lady  in  Illinois,  and 
says,  *  Gentlemen,  this  is  a  good  old  friend 
of  mine.  She  can  make  the  best  flapjacks 
you  ever  tasted,  and  she's  baked  'em  for 
me  many  a  time.'  Aunt  Sally  was  jest  as 
pink  as  a  rosy,  she  was  so  tickled.  And 
17 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
she  says,  '  Abe '-  -  all  the  old  folks  in 
Sangamon  called  him  Abe.  They  knowed 
him  as  a  boy,  but  don't  you  believe  any- 
body ever  did  up  here.  No,  sir,  we  said 
Mr.  Lincoln.  He  was  like  one  of  us,  but 
he  wan't  no  man  to  be  over  familiar  with. 
'Abe,'  says  Aunt  Sally,  'I  had  to  come 
and  say  good-by.  They  say  down  our  way 
they're  goin'  to  kill  you  if  they  get  you 
down  to  Washington,  but  I  don't  believe 
it.  I  just  tell  'em  you're  too  smart  to  let 
'em  git  ahead  of  you  that  way.  I  thought 
I'd  come  and  bring  you  a  present,  knit 
'em  myself,'  and  I'll  be  blamed  if  that  old 
lady  didn't  pull  out  a  great  big  pair  of 
yarn  socks  and  hand  'em  to  Mr.  Lincoln. 
"  Well,  sir,  it  was  the  funniest  thing  to 
see  Mr.  Lincoln's  face  pucker  up  and  his 
eyes  twinkle  and  twinkle.  He  took  them 
socks  and  held  'em  up  by  the  toes,  one  in 
each  hand.  They  was  the  longest  socks  I 
18 


"Aunt  Sally,  you  touldnt  a  done  nuthin    which  would 
have  pleased  me  belter  " 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
ever  see.  '  The  lady  got  my  latitude  and 
longitude  'bout  right,  didn't  she,  gentle- 
men ? '  he  says,  and  then  he  laid  'em 
down  and  he  took  Aunt  Sally's  hand  and 
he  says  tender-like,  'Aunt  Sally,  you 
couldn't  a  done  nothin'  which  would 
have  pleased  me  better.  I'll  take  'em  to 
Washington  and  wear  'em,  and  think 
of  you  when  I  do  it.'  And  I  declare  he 
said  it  so  first  thing  I  knew  I  was  al- 
most blubberin',  and  I  wan't  the  only 
one  nuther,  and  I  bet  he  did  wear  'em  in 
Washington.  I  can  jest  see  him  pullin' 
off  his  shoe  and  showin'  them  socks  to 
Sumner  or  Seward  or  some  other  big  bug 
that  was  botherin'  him  when  he  wanted 
to  switch  off  on  another  subject  and  tellin' 
'em  the  story  about  Aunt  Sally  and  her 
flapjacks. 

" '  Was  there  much  talk  about  his  bein' 
killed  ? '  Well,  there's  an  awful  lot  of  fools 
19 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
in  this  world  and  when  they  don't  git  what 
they  want  they're  always  for  killin'  some- 
body. Mr.  Lincoln  never  let  on,  but  I 
reckon  his  mail  was  pretty  lively  readin' 
sometimes.  He  got  pictures  of  gallows 
and  pistols  and  other  things  and  lots  of 
threats,  so  they  said.  I  don't  think  that 
worried  him  much.  He  was  more  bothered 
seein'  old  Buchanan  givin'  the  game 
away.  'I  wish  I  could  have  got  down 
there  before  the  horse  was  stole,'  I  heard 
him  say  onct  in  here,  talkin'  to  some  men. 
*  But  I  reckon  I  can  find  the  tracks  when 
I  do  git  there.'  It  was  his  cabinet  bother- 
ed him  most,  I  always  thought.  He  didn't 
know  the  men  he'd  got  to  take  well 
enough.  Didn't  know  how  far  he  could 
count  on  'em.  He  and  Judge  Gillespie 
and  one  or  two  others  was  in  here  one 
day  sittin'  by  the  stove  talkin,'  and  he 
says,  *  Judge,  I  wisht  I  could  take  all  you 
20 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
boys  down  to  Washington  with  me, 
Democrats  and  all,  and  make  a  cabinet 
out  of  you.  I'd  know  where  every  man 
would  fit  and  we  could  git  right  down  to 
work.  Now,  I've  got  to  learn  my  men 
before  I  can  do  much.'  'Do  you  mean, 
Mr.  Lincoln,  you'd  take  a  Democrat  like 
Logan  ? '  says  the  Judge,  sort  of  shocked. 
'Yes,  sir,  I  would;  I  know  Logan.  He's 
agin  me  now  and  that's  all  right,  but  if 
we  have  trouble  you  can  count  on  Logan 
to  do  the  right  thing  by  the  country, 
and  that's  the  kind  of  men  I  want  —  them 
as  will  do  the  right  thing  by  the  country. 
'Tain't  a  question  of  Lincoln,  or  Demo- 
crat or  Republican,  Judge;  it's  a  question 
of  the  country.' 

"Of  course  he  seemed  pretty  cheerful 
always.  He  wan't  no  man  to  show  out  all 
he  felt.  Lots  of  them  little  stuck-up  chaps 
that  came  out  here  to  talk  to  him  said, 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
solemn  as  owls,  'He  don't  realize  the 
gravity  of  the  situation.'  Them's  their 
words,  'gravity  of  the  situation.'  Think  of 
that,  Mr.  Lincoln  not  realizing.  They 
ought  to  heard  him  talk  to  us  the  night  he 
went  away.  I'll  never  f orgit  that  speech  — 
nor  any  man  who  heard  it.  I  can  see  him 
now  just  how  he  looked,  standin'  there  on 
the  end  of  his  car.  He'd  been  shakin' 
hands  with  the  crowd  in  the  depot,  laugh- 
ing and  talking,  just  like  himself,  but  when 
he  got  onto  that  car  he  seemed  suddint 
to  be  all  changed.  You  never  seen  a  face 
so  sad  in  all  the  world.  I  tell  you  he  had 
woe  in  his  heart  that  minute,  woe.  He 
knew  he  was  leavin'  us  for  good,  nuthin' 
else  could  explain  the  way  he  looked  and 
what  he  said.  He  knew  he  never  was 
comin'  back  alive.  It  was  rainin'  hard, 
but  when  we  saw  him  standin'  there  in 
bare  head,  his  great  big  eyes  lookin'  at 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
us  so  lovin'  and  mournful,  every  man  of 
us  took  off  his  hat,  just  as  if  he'd  been  in 
church.  You  never  heard  him  make  a 
speech,  of  course  ?  You  missed  a  lot. 
Curious  voice.  You  could  hear  it  away 
off  -  -  kind  of  shrill,  but  went  right  to 
your  heart  —  and  that  night  it  sounded 
sadder  than  anything  I  ever  heard.  You 
know  I  always  hear  it  to  this  day,  nights 
when  the  wind  howls  around  the  house. 
Ma  says  it  makes  her  nervous  to  hear  me 
talk  about  him  such  nights,  but  I  can't 
help  it;  just  have  to  let  out 

"  He  stood  a  minute  lookin'  at  us,  and 
then  he  began  to  talk.  There  ain't  a  man 
in  this  town  that  heard  him  that  ever  for- 
got what  he  said,  but  I  don't  believe 
there's  a  man  that  ever  said  it  over  out 
loud  —  he  couldn't,  without  cryin'.  He 
just  talked  to  us  that  time  out  of  his  heart. 
Somehow  we  felt  all  of  a  suddint  how  we 
23 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
loved  him  and  how  he  loved  us.  We 
hadn't  taken  any  stock  in  all  that  talk 
about  his  bein'  killed,  but  when  he  said 
he  was  goin'  away  not  knowin'  where  or 
whether  ever  he  would  return  I  just  got 
cold  all  over.  I  begun  to  see  that  minute 
and  everybody  did.  The  women  all  fell  to 
sobbin'  and  a  kind  of  groan  went  up,  and 
when  he  asked  us  to  pray  for  him  I  don't 
believe  that  there  was  a  man  in  that 
crowd,  whether  he  ever  went  to  church 
in  his  life,  that  didn't  want  to  drop  right 
down  on  his  marrow  bones  and  ask  the 
Lord  to  take  care  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
and  bring  him  back  to  us,  where  he  be- 
longed. 

4 '  Ever  see  him  again  ? '  Yes,  onct 
down  in  Washington,  summer  of  '64. 
Things  was  lookin'  purty  blue  that  sum- 
mer. Didn't  seem  to  be  anybody  who 
thought  he'd  git  reflected.  Greeley  was 
24 


"He  just  talked  to  us  that  time  out  of  his  heart 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
abusin'  him  in  The  Tribune  for  not  mak- 
in'  peace,  and  you  know  there  was  about 
half  the  North  that  always  let  Greeley 
do  their  thinkin'  fer  'em.  The  war  wan't 
comin'  on  at  all  —  seemed  as  if  they  never 
would  do  nuthin'.  Grant  was  hangin'  on 
to  Petersburg  like  a  dog  to  a  root,  but  it 
didn't  seem  to  do  no  good.  Same  with 
Sherman,  who  was  tryin'  to  take  Atlanta. 
The  country  was  just  petered  out  with 
the  everlastin'  taxes  an'  fightin'  an'  dyin'. 
It  wan't  human  nature  to  be  patient  any 
longer,  and  they  just  spit  it  out  on  Mr. 
Lincoln,  and  then,  right  on  top  of  all  the 
grumblin'  and  abusin',  he  up  and  made 
another  draft.  Course  he  was  right,  but  I 
tell  you  nobody  but  a  brave  man  would 
'a'  done  such  a  thing  at  that  minute ;  but 
he  did  it.  It  was  hard  on  us  out  here.  I 
tell  you  there  wan't  many  houses  in  this 
country  where  there  wan't  mournin'  goin' 
25 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
on.  It  didn't  seem  as  if  we  could  stand  any 
more  blood  lettin.'  Some  of  the  boys 
round  the  State  went  down  to  see  him 
about  it.  They  came  back  lookin'  pretty 
sheepish.  Joe  Medill,  up  to  Chicago,  told 
me  about  it  onct.  He  said,  '  We  just  told 
Mr.  Lincoln  we  couldn't  stand  another 
draft.  We  was  through  sendin'  men  down 
to  Petersburg  to  be  killed  in  trenches.  He 
didn't  say  nuthin';  just  stood  still,  lookin' 
down  till  we'd  all  talked  ourselves  out; 
and  then,  after  a  while,  he  lifted  up  his 
head,  and  looked  around  at  us,  slow-like; 
and  I  tell  you,  Billy,  I  never  knew  till 
that  minute  that  Abraham  Lincoln  could 
get  mad  clean  through.  He  was  just  white 
he  was  that  mad.  "Boys,"  he  says,  "you 
ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourselves.  You're 
actin'  like  a  lot  of  cowards.  You've  helped 
make  this  war,  and  you've  got  to  help 
fight  it.  You  go  home  and  raise  them  men 
26 


*  You're  adiri*  like  a  lot  of  cowards.    You've  helped 
make  this  war,  and  you've  got  to  help  fight  it  " 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
and  don't  you  dare  come  down  here  again 
blubberin'  about  what  I  tell  you  to  do.  I 
won't  stan'  it."  We  was  so  scared  we 
never  said  a  word.  We  just  took  our  hats 
and  went  out  like  a  lot  of  school-boys. 
Talk  about  Abraham  Lincoln  bein'  easy ! 
When  it  didn't  matter  mebbe  he  was 
easy,  but  when  it  did  you  couldn't  stir 
him  any  more'n  you  could  a  mountain.' 
"  Well,  I  kept  hearin'  about  the  trouble 
he  was  havin'  with  everybody,  and  I  just 
made  up  my  mind  I'd  go  down  and  see 
him  and  swap  yarns  and  tell  him  how  we 
was  all  countin'  on  his  gettin'  home. 
Thought  maybe  it  would  cheer  him  up  to 
know  we  set  such  store  on  his  comin' 
home  if  they  didn't  want  him  for  presi- 
dent. So  I  jest  picked  up  and  went  right 
off.  Ma  was  real  good  about  my  goin'. 
She  says,  '  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  'twould 
do  him  good,  William.  And  don't  you  ask 
27 


HE   KNEW   LINCOLN 
him    no  questions  about    the    war   nor 
about  politics.  You  just  talk  home  to  him 
and  tell  him  some  of  them  foolish  stories 
of  yourn.' 

"  Well,  I  had  a  brother  in  Washington, 
clerk  in  a  department  —  awful  set  up 
'cause  he  had  an  office  —  and  when  I  got 
down  there  I  told  him  I'd  come  to  visit 
Mr.  Lincoln.  He  says, '  William,  be  you  a 
fool?  Folks  don't  visit  the  President  of 
the  United  States  without  an  invitation, 
and  he's  too  busy  to  see  anybody  but  the 
very  biggest  people  in  this  administra- 
tion. Why,  he  don't  even  see  me,'  he  says. 
Well,  it  made  me  huffy  to  hear  him  talk. 
'  Isaac,'  I  says, '  I  don't  wonder  Mr.  Lin- 
coln don't  see  you.  But  it's  different  with 
me.  Him  and  me  is  friends.' 

"'Well'  he  says,  'you've  got  to  have 
cards   anyway.'   'Cards,'   I  says,   'what 
for  ?  What  kind  ?'  'Why,'  he  says,  'visit- 
28 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
in'  cards  —  with  your  name  on.'  'Well,' 
I  says,  'it's  come  to  a  pretty  pass,  if  an 
old  friend  like  me  can't  see  Mr.  Lincoln 
without  sendin'  him  a  piece  of  paste- 
board. I'd  be  ashamed  to  do  such  a  thing, 
Isaac  Brown.  Do  you  suppose  he's  for- 
gotten me  ?  Needs  to  see  my  name  printed 
out  to  know  who  I  am  ?  You  can't  make 
me  believe  any  such  thing,'  and  I  walked 
right  out  of  the  room,  and  that  night  I 
footed  it  up  to  the  Soldiers'  Home  where 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  livin'  then,  right  among 
the  sick  soldiers  in  their  tents. 

"There  was  lots  of  people  settin' 
around  in  a  little  room,  waitin'  fer  him, 
but  there  wan't  anybody  there  I  knowed, 
and  I  was  feelin'  a  little  funny  when  a 
door  opened  and  out  came  little  John 
Nicolay.  He  came  from  down  this  way, 
so  I  just  went  up  and  says,  'How'd  you 
do,  John ;  where's  Mr  Lincoln  ? ' 
29 


HE    KNEW    LINCOLN 
Well,  John  didn't  seem  over  glad  to  see 
me. 

' '  Have  you  an  appintment  with  Mr. 
Lincoln  ? '  he  says. 

"  'No,  sir,'  I  says;  'I  ain't,  and  it  ain't 
necessary.  Mebbe  it's  all  right  and  fittin' 
for  them  as  wants  post-offices  to  have 
appintments,  but  I  reckon  Mr.  Lincoln's 
old  friends  don't  need  'em,  so  you  just 
trot  along,  Johnnie,  and  tell  him  Billy 
Brown's  here  and  see  what  he  says.'  Well, 
he  kind  a  flushed  up  and  set  his  lips  to- 
gether, but  he  knowed  me,  and  so  he  went 
off.  In  about  two  minutes  the  door  popped 
open  and  out  came  Mr.  Lincoln,  his  face 
all  lit  up.  He  saw  me  first  thing,  and  he 
laid  holt  of  me  and  just  shook  my  hands 
fit  to  kill.  'Billy,'  he  says,  'now  I  am 
glad  to  see  you.  Come  right  in.  You're 
goin'  to  stay  to  supper  with  Mary  and 


me.' 


30 


"  We  went  out  on  the  back  stoop  and  sat  down  and  talked 
and  talked  " 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
"  Didn't  I  know  it  ?  Think  bein'  presi- 
dent would  change  him  —  not  a  mite. 
Well,  he  had  a  right  smart  lot  of  people 
to  see,  but  soon  as  he  was  through  we 
went  out  on  the  back  stoop  and  set  down 
and  talked  and  talked.  He  asked  me 
about  pretty  nigh  everybody  in  Spring- 
field. I  just  let  loose  and  told  him  about 
the  weddin's  and  births  and  the  funerals 
and  the  buildin',  and  I  guess  there  wan't 
a  yarn  I'd  heard  in  the  three  years  and  a 
half  he'd  been  away  that  I  didn't  spin  for 
him.  Laugh  -  -  you  ought  to  a  heard  him 
laugh  —  just  did  my  heart  good,  for  I 
could  see  what  they'd  been  doin'  to  him. 
Always  was  a  thin  man,  but,  Lordy,  he 
was  thinner'n  ever  now,  and  his  face  was 
kind  a  drawn  and  gray  —  enough  to  make 
you  cry. 

"  Well,  we  had  supper  and  then  talked 
some  more,  and  about  ten  o'clock  I  start- 
31 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
ed  downtown.  Wanted  me  to  stay  all 
night,  but  I  says  to  myself,  *  Billy,  don't 
you  overdo  it.  You've  cheered  him  up, 
and  you  better  light  out  and  let  him  re- 
member it  when  he's  tired.'  So  I  said, 
'  Nope,  Mr.  Lincoln,  can't,  goin'  back  to 
Springfield  to-morrow.  Ma  don't  like  to 
have  me  away  and  my  boy  ain't  no  great 
shakes  keepin'  store.'  'Billy,'  he  says, 
*  what  did  you  come  down  here  for  ? '  '  I 
come  to  see  you,  Mr.  Lincoln.'  'But  you 
ain't  asked  me  for  anything,  Billy.  What 
is  it  ?  Out  with  it.  Want  a  post-office  ?' 
he  said,  gigglin',  for  he  knowed  I  didn't. 
'No,  Mr.  Lincoln,  just  wanted  to  see  you 
—  felt  kind  a  lonesome  —  been  so  long 
since  I'd  sen  you,  and  I  was  afraid  I'd 
forgit  some  of  them  yarns  if  I  didn't  un- 
load soon.' 

"  Well,  sir,  you  ought  to  seen  his  face  as 
he  looked  at  me. 

32 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
" '  Billy  Brown/  he  says,  slow-like,  '  do 
you  mean  to  tell  me  you  came  all  the  way 
from  Springfield,  Illinois,  just  to  have  a 
visit  with  me,  that  you  don't  want  an 
office  for  anybody,  nor  a  pardon  for  any- 
body, that  you  ain't  got  no  complaints  in 
your  pockets,  nor  any  advice  up  your 
sleeve  ? ' 

"'Yes,  sir,'  I  says,  'that's  about  it,  and 
I'll  be  durned  if  I  wouldn't  go  to  Europe 
to  see  you,  if  I  couldn't  do  it  no  other  way, 
Mr.  Lincoln.' 

"Well,  sir,  I  never  was  so  astonished 
in  my  life.  He  just  grabbed  my  hand  and 
shook  it  nearly  off,  and  the  tears  just 
poured  down  his  face,  and  he  says,  *  Billy, 
you  never'll  know  what  good  you've  done 
me.  I'm  homesick,  Billy,  just  plumb 
homesick,  and  it  seems  as  if  this  war 
never  would  be  over.  Many  a  night  I  can 
see  the  boys  a-dyin'  on  the  fields  and  can 


HE    KNEW    LINCOLN 
hear  their  mothers  cryin'  for  'em  at  home, 
and  I  can't  help  'em,  Billy.  I  have  to  send 
them  down  there.  We've  got  to  save  the 
Union,  Billy,  we've  got  to.' 

'"Course  we  have,  Mr.  Lincoln,'  I 
says,  cheerful  as  I  could, '  course  we  have. 
Don't  you  worry.  It's  most  over.  You're 
goin'  to  be  reflected,  and  you  and  old 
Grant's  goin'  to  finish  this  war  mighty 
quick  then.  Just  keep  a  stiff  upper  lip, 
Mr.  Lincoln,  and  don't  forget  them  yarns 
I  told  you.'  And  I  started  out.  But  seems 
as  if  he  couldn't  let  me  go.  '  Wait  a  min- 
ute, Billy,'  he  says,  'till  I  get  my  hat  and 
I'll  walk  a  piece  with  you.'  It  was  one  of 
them  still  sweet-smellin'  summer  nights 
with  no  end  of  stars  and  you  ain't  no  idee 
how  pretty  'twas  walkin'  down  the  road. 
There  was  white  tents  showin'  through 
the  trees  and  every  little  way  a  tall  soldier 
standin'  stock  still,  a  gun  at  his  side. 
34 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
Made  me  feel  mighty  curious  and  solemn. 
By-and-by  we  come  out  of  the  trees  to  a 
sightly  place  where  you  could  look  all 
over  Washington  —  see  the  Potomac  and 
clean  into  Virginia.  There  was  a  bench 
there  and  we  set  down  and  after  a  while 
Mr.  Lincoln  he  begun  to  talk.  Well,  sir, 
you  or  nobody  ever  heard  anything  like 
it.  Blamed  if  he  didn't  tell  me  the  whole 
thing  —  all  about  the  war  and  the  gener- 
als and  Seward  and  Sumner  and  Con- 
gress and  Greeley  and  the  whole  blamed 
lot.  He  just  opened  up  his  heart  if  I  do 
say  it.  Seemed  as  if  he'd  come  to  a  p'int 
where  he  must  let  out.  I  dunno  how  long 
we  set  there  —  must  have  been  nigh 
morning,  fer  the  stars  begun  to  go  out 
before  he  got  up  to  go.  '  Good-by,  Billy,' 
he  says.  '  you're  the  first  person  I  ever 
unloaded  onto,  and  I  hope  you  won't 
think  I'm  a  baby,'  and  then  we  shook 
35 


HE    KNEW    LINCOLN 
hands  again,  and  I  walked  down  to  town 
and  next  day  I  come  home. 

"  Tell  you  what  he  said  ?  Nope,  I  can't. 
Can't  talk  about  it  somehow.  Fact  is,  I 
never  told  anybody  about  what  he  said 
that  night.  Tried  to  tell  ma  onct,  but  she 
cried,  so  I  give  it  up. 

'  Yes,  that's  the  last  time  I  seen  him  — 
last  time  alive. 

"  Wan't  long  after  that  things  began  to 
look  better.  War  began  to  move  right 
smart,  and,  soon  as  it  did,  there  wan't  no 
use  talkin'  about  anybody  else  for  Presi- 
dent. I  see  that  plain  enough,  and,  just  as 
I  told  him,  he  was  reflected,  and  him  an' 
Grant  finished  up  the  war  in  a  hurry.  I 
tell  you  it  was  a  great  day  out  here  when 
we  heard  Lee  had  surrendered.  'Twas 
just  like  gettin'  converted  to  have  the  war 
over.  Somehow  the  only  thing  I  could 
think  of  was  how  glad  Mr.  Lincoln  would 
36 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
be.  Me  and  ma  reckoned  he'd  come 
right  out  and  make  us  a  visit  and  get 
rested,  and  we  began  right  off  to  make 
plans  about  the  reception  we'd  give 
him  —  brass  band  -  -  parade  —  speeches 
fireworks  —  everything.  Seems  as  if  I 
couldn't  think  about  anything  else.  I  was 
comin'  down  to  open  the  store  one  mor- 
nin',  and  all  the  way  down  I  was  plannin' 
how  I'd  decorate  the  windows  and  how 
I'd  tie  a  flag  on  that  old  chair,  when  I  see 
Hiram  Jones  comin'  toward  me.  He 
looked  so  old  and  all  bent  over  I  didn't 
know  what  had  happened.  'Hiram,'  I 
says,  'what's  the  matter?  Be  you 
sick?' 

' '  Billy,'  he  says,  and  he  couldn't  hard- 
ly say  it,  '  Billy,  they've  killed  Mr.  Lin- 
coln.' 

:<  Well,  I  just  turned  cold  all  over,  and 
then  I  flared  up.  'Hiram  Jones,'  I  says, 
37 


HE    KNEW    LINCOLN 

*  you're  lyin,'  you're  crazy.  How  dare  you 
tell  me  that  ?  It  ain't  so.' 

' '  Don't  Billy,'  he  says, '  don't  go  on  so. 
I  ain't  lyin'.  It's  so.  He'll  never  come 
back,  Billy.  He's  dead!'  And  he  fell  to 
sobbin'  out  loud  right  there  in  the  street, 
and  somehow  I  knew  it  was  true. 

"  I  come  on  down  and  opened  the  door. 
People  must  have  paregoric  and  castor 
ile  and  liniment,  no  matter  who  dies ;  but 
I  didn't  put  up  the  shades.  I  just  sat  here 
and  thought  and  thought  and  groaned 
and  groaned.  It  seemed  that  day  as  if  the 
country  was  plumb  ruined  and  I  didn't 
care  much.  All  I  could  think  of  was  him. 
He  wan't  goin'  to  come  back.  He  wouldn't 
never  sit  here  in  that  chair  again.  He  was 
dead. 

"For  days  and  days  'twas  awful  here. 
Waitin'  and  waitin'.  Seemed  as  if  that 
funeral  never  would  end.  I  couldn't  bear 
38 


HE  KNEW  LINCOLN 
to  think  of  him  bein'  dragged  around  the 
country  and  havin'  all  that  fuss  made  over 
him.  He  always  hated  fussin'  so.  Still,  I 
s'pose  I'd  been  mad  if  they  hadn't  done  it. 
Seemed  awful,  though.  I  kind  a  felt  that 
he  belonged  to  us  now,  that  they  ought  to 
bring  him  back  and  let  us  have  him  now 
they'd  killed  him. 

"  Of  course  they  got  here  at  last,  and  I 
must  say  it  was  pretty  grand.  All  sorts 
of  big  bugs,  Senators  and  Congress- 
men, and  officers  in  grand  uniforms  and 
music  and  flags  and  crape.  They  certainly 
didn't  spare  no  pains  givin'  him  a  funeral. 
Only  we  didn't  want  'em.  We  wanted  to 
bury  him  ourselves,  but  they  wouldn't 
let  us.  I  went  over  onct  where  they'd  laid 
him  out  for  folks  to  see.  I  reckon  I  won't 
tell  you  about  that.  I  ain't  never  goin'  to 
get  that  out  of  my  mind.  I  wisht  a  million 
times  I'd  never  seen  him  lyin'  there  black 
39 


HE   KNEW    LINCOLN 
and  changed  —  that  I  could  only  see  him 
as  he  looked  sayin'  'good-by'  to  me  up 
to   the   Soldiers'   Home   in   Washington 
that  night. 

"  Ma  and  me  didn't  go  to  the  cemetery 
with  'em.  I  couldn't  stan'  it.  Didn't  seem 
right  to  have  sich  goin's  on  here  at  home 
where  he  belonged,  for  a  man  like  him. 
But  we  go  up  often  now,  ma  and  me  does, 
and  talk  about  him.  Blamed  if  it  don't 
seem  sometimes  as  if  he  was  right  there 
—  might  step  out  any  minute  and  say 
*  Hello,  Billy,  any  new  stories?' 

:<Yes.  I  knowed  Abraham  Lincoln; 
knowed  him  well;  and  I  tell  you  there 
wan't  never  a  better  man  made.  Least- 
wise I  don't  want  to  know  a  better  one. 
He  just  suited  me  —  Abraham  Lincoln 
did." 

THE  END 

THB   MCCLURE   PRESS,    NEW   YORK 


